Improved Process for the Continuous Acylation of 1,3-Benzodioxole.

The acylation of 1,3-benzodioxole was studied in a continuous process using a recyclable heterogeneous substoichiometric catalyst. In a short time period (30 min), at 100 °C, the conversion rate was 73%, with a selectivity of 62% of the desired acylated product; the reaction was run continuously for 6 h, showing excellent stability and selectivity. Moreover, the unreacted starting material, 1,3-benzodioxole, can be easily separated by distillation and recycled.

Light Conversion upon Photoexcitation of NaBiF:Yb/Ho/Ce Nanocrystalline Particles.

NaBiF nanocrystalline particles were synthesized by means of a facile precipitation synthesis route to explore upconversion emission properties when doped with lanthanide ions. In particular, the incorporation of the Yb-Ho-Ce triad with controlled ion concentration facilitates near-IR pumping conversion into visible light, with the possibility of color emission tuning depending on Ce doping amount. We observed that introducing a Ce content up to 20 at.